George Zimmerman’s attorneys quit: We have lost contact with him

The attorneys for George Zimmerman, who claims to have shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense, said during a press conference Tuesday that they had terminated their relationship with him.

Attorneys Craig Sonner and Hal Uhri said they had not be able to contact him since Sunday, but would continue to represent him if he decided to contact them. The attorneys said it would be wrong for them to claim to represent Zimmerman if they were not in contact with him.

“He has gone on his own,” Sonner said.

The attorneys had only talked with Zimmerman on the phone, but had planned to have face-to-face meetings.

Zimmerman called Fox News host Sean Hannity and special prosecutor Angela Corey’s office in Florida, according to the attorneys. Hannity refused to tell the attorneys what Zimmerman told him.

Zimmerman has completely avoided the media and has gone into hiding. Sonner and Uhri refused to indicate where he may be, but said anyone looking for him should look “far away from Florida.”

The attorneys said Zimmerman was “not doing well” and probably suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. They described him as being “emotionally crippled.”

The attorneys said they didn’t believe that Zimmerman planned to flee the country.

Despite withdrawing their counsel, Sonner and Uhri still believe Zimmerman acted in self-defense.

Zimmerman told police that he had followed Martin on foot, but eventually lost sight of him and turned around to walk back to his SUV. That is when, according to Zimmerman’s account, Martin approached him from behind and confronted him. He said that Martin punched him in the nose, knocking him down, and then began banging his head into the ground. That is when Zimmerman allegedly shot Martin.

When police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman claimed that he shot and killed the unarmed African American teenager out of self-defense, which allowed him to benefit from Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Zimmerman was not arrested that night, a fact that later sparked national outrage and a flood of criticism.